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Family and Youth Services Bureau

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FYSB logo as of 2018

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is a division of the US Executive Branch under the Administration for Children and Families and the Department of Health and Human Services. The FYSB's primary purpose is to support programs for at-risk youth and their families.[1]: 27 

The FYSB is organized into two major divisions, which administer three principle programs.[2] These are the Division of Adolescent Development and Support, which administers the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program and the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program, and the Division of Family Violence Prevention and Services, which administers the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program.[2]

Runaway and Homeless Youth Program

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The Runaway and Homeless Youth Program (RHYP) was first established in 1974 through passage of the Runaway Youth Act.[3]: ch. 5  The RHYP administers the National Runaway Safeline, a 24 hour hotline for adolescents in crisis, which provides educational resources and technical assistance,[4] and the National Clearinghouse on Runaway and Homeless Youth, founded in 1992, and which serves as a central repository for information related to runaway or homeless youth.[5]: 43 

The RHYP provides services to approximately 30,000 individuals through emergency shelters, and houses between 3,500 and 4,000 youths per year.[6][7]: ii  As of 2014 the program was funded at a rate of $115 million annually.[6]

The program overall is divided into three major components:

The Basic Center Program

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The Basic Center Program provides "intervention, temporary shelter, counselling, and after-care services" through a network of emergency shelters mostly housed in local non-profits or public health departments.[3]: ch. 5 [7]: 8  Shelter is provided for youths for a period of up to 21 days, which includes individual and family counseling for a range of issues, which may include educational assistance, vocational training, job searching, and exit planning if needed, to make arrangements for after they depart the shelter.[7]: 8, 13 

Annual funding for the 2015 fiscal year was $53 million, with 296 grantees.[7]: iii  Of those served by the program in the 2014 fiscal year, 52% were female and 48% were male; 3% were under the age of 10, while 37% were age 11 to 14, and 60% were age 15 to 17; and finally 51% were white, while 32% were black and 20% were Hispanic or Latino. A total of 86% were living in a private residence prior to entry in the program, and 67% were attending school regularly.[7]: 9  The same year, centers had to turn away 2,425 youths who contacted them for services due to lack of available space.[7]: 9 

Overall, 90% of those staying in Basic Centers transition to a stable living situation, and 70% return to the home of a parent or guardian.[7]: 14 

The Transitional Living Program

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The Transitional Living Program provides "long-term housing and supportive services" to those age 16 to 21.[3]: ch. 5  These may include life-skills building, interpersonal skills building, educational assistance, vocational assistance, behavioral health care and physical health care.[7]: 19–20  Services are normally provided for a period of 540 days, although those who remain in the program for longer than 635 days may remain until they turn 18 years old.[7]: 15 

The annual funding for the 2015 fiscal year was $44 million, with 200 grantees.[7]: iii  Of those served by the program in the 2014 fiscal year, 60% were female and 39% were male; 45% were white, 39% black, and 16% Hispanic or Latino; and finally, 4% were under the age of 16, while 40% were age 17 to 19, 46% were age 19 to 20, and 10% were over the age of 21.[7]: 16  The same year the program was forced to turn away 4,842 youths who contacted them for services due to lack of space, including 801 who were placed on waiting lists.[7]: 16 

Overall, 88% of those leaving transitional living go on to find stable housing, 38% had attained a high school diploma or GED, and 27% were employed while 46% were seeking employment.[7]: 22 

Street Outreach Program

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The Street Outreach Program (also known as the Education and Prevention Services to Reduce Sexual Abuse of Runaway, Homeless, and Street Youth Program) provides "education, treatment, counselling and referrals" for teenage runaways, homeless teenagers, and others living on the streets.[3]: ch. 5 [7]: 22  Annual funding for the 2015 fiscal year was $17 million, with 101 grantees served.[7]: iii 

Although workers to not gather personal information on those served, the program recorded a total of 461,524 instances of contact with young people in the 2014 fiscal year, of which 21,378 moved to a shelter for at least a single night.[7]: 23, 26 

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program

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The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program supports efforts at reducing rates of teen pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, with an emphasis on adolescents in foster care, those who are homeless, and those who belong to minority groups.[8] Grant programs include:

  • The State Personal Responsibility Education Program, which began in 2010 through an amendment to the Social Security Act, and which in the fiscal year for 2016 dispersed $40.8 million among 50 grantees.[9][10]
  • The Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program, which in 2016 dispersed $3.4 million among eight grantees[11]
  • The Personal Responsibility Education Program Competitive Grants, which in 2015 awarded $10 million to 21 grantees[12]
  • The Personal Responsibility Education Innovative Strategies Program, which awards about $9 million annually[13]
  • The State Abstinence Education Grant Program, which supports abstinence education, and in the fiscal year for 2016 awarded $60.4 million to 38 states and territories[14]
  • The Competitive Abstinence Education Grant Program, which funds initiatives that increase "knowledge of effective and promising approaches to reducing teen pregnancy"[15]

Family Violence Prevention and Services Program

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The Family Violence Prevention and Services Program (FVPSP) provides a number of grants to targeted as domestic violence victims along with their families, provides funding for approximately 1,600 emergency shelters, as well as counseling, and a national domestic violence hotline.[8][16]: 1499  The FVPSP also provides funding for research into the prevention of family violence, training, and technical assistance to related programs.[17]: 73 

Program funding is allocated as follows:

  • 70% to states and territories for domestic violence programs
  • 10% to tribes for domestic violence programs
  • 10% to Domestic Violence Coalitions
  • 6% to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
  • 2.5% for evaluation, monitoring and administration
  • 1.5% for discretionary spending[18]: 13–4 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ National Research Council; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; Institute of Medicine; Board on Children, Youth, and Families (12 July 2001). Getting to Positive Outcomes for Children in Child Care: A Summary of Two Workshops. National Academies Press. ISBN 9780309170604. Retrieved 7 May 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "What We Do". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Dabir, Neela; Athale, Naina (7 June 2011). From Street to Hope: Faith Based and Secular Programs in Los Angeles, Mumbai and Nairobi for Street Living Children. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9788132118992. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Family and Youth Services Bureau Anti-Trafficking Efforts". childwelfare.gov. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. ^ DIANE Publishing Company (June 1995). National Organizations Concerned With Mental Health, Housing, and Homelessness. ISBN 9780788148545. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b "40 Years Ago: Runaway Youth Act of 1974". National Low Income Housing Coalition. May 30, 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Report to Congress on the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015" (PDF). Family and Youth Services Bureau. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b Cousins, Linwood H. (5 September 2014). Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-4833-7083-5.
  9. ^ "State Personal Responsibility Education Program Fact Sheet". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  10. ^ Campa, Mary I.; Leff, Sarah Z.; Tufts, Margaret (February 2018). "Reaching High-Need Youth Populations With Evidence-Based Sexual Health Education in California". American Journal of Public Health. 108 (S1): S32–S37. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304127. PMC 5813774. PMID 29443568.
  11. ^ "2016 Tribal Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Grant Awards". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) Competitive Grants". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Personal Responsibility Education Program Innovative Strategies Fact Sheet". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. ^ "State Abstinence Education Grant Program Fact Sheet". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Competitive Abstinence Education Grant Program". Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  16. ^ Levinson, David (18 March 2002). Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781452265292. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  17. ^ Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (U.S.); United States. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1996). Combating Violence and Delinquency: The National Juvenile Justice Action Plan : Report. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788130878. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Navigating the Family Violence Prevention and Services Program: A Guide for State and Territorial Administrators" (PDF). Family and Youth Services Bureau. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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